daily news and photography about cacti and succulents and some carnivorous plants too

A Cactus Blooms in Memphis

I love it when papers print articles about a cactus in bloom, like it was some kind of miracle, which it is. Here we have the Memphis Commercial-Appeal printing an article about a bloom.

M. Shah Jahan, professor and chairman of the University of Memphis physics department, recently succeeded in producing this night-blooming cereus plant bloom, which last happened four years ago. The Queen of the Night blossom produces a scent that seems to combine the magnolia and gardenia, with a citrus strain and a hint of spice.

Why should we care? Well, for the first time I’ve ever read, the local paper tells you why you should care.

Why celebrate the blooming of flowers on one plant?

Because the Queen of the Night flowers so rarely that some owners of the plants never see a bloom. Because the flower, intricate and extravagant to the point of excess, lasts only one night.

Because it is an object of rapturous beauty and heavenly aroma, a delicate combination of magnolia and gardenia, yet with more of a citrus strain and a hint of subtle spice.